If you recall, last Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. day. There were some ceremonies honoring and remembering King, we didn't have classes, the banks were closed, the post offices were closed, the public library was closed, and we didn't get mail that day. Despite these closures, our daily routines continued and for lots of people, MLK day probably went by unnoticed.
So I'm using MLK day to talk about Harvey Milk. Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to political office in the United States. This was in the 1970s, probably way before anyone dreamed of lobbying for same-sex marriage. You are probably more familiar with Milk because of the eponymous movie, starring Sean Penn.
At the end of last summer, the California State Assembly passed legislation to create a Harvey Milk Day. (I think that it's slated to be May 22) Of course, there was opposition, presumably because some people think that having a day to honor Milk means that now kids are going to learn how to have gay sex in school. (never mind that most current sex ed curriculums barely cover hetero sex, but that's for a different blog post) When I was reading coverage about the Milk Day legislation and its opposition, I thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. If Milk day is anything like MLK day, it will most likely go by unnoticed. Sure, there will be ceremonies and kids might get a superficial lesson on discrimination and equal rights, but Milk day, like MLK day, will hardly be earth shattering.
So I'm using MLK day to talk about Harvey Milk. Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to political office in the United States. This was in the 1970s, probably way before anyone dreamed of lobbying for same-sex marriage. You are probably more familiar with Milk because of the eponymous movie, starring Sean Penn.
At the end of last summer, the California State Assembly passed legislation to create a Harvey Milk Day. (I think that it's slated to be May 22) Of course, there was opposition, presumably because some people think that having a day to honor Milk means that now kids are going to learn how to have gay sex in school. (never mind that most current sex ed curriculums barely cover hetero sex, but that's for a different blog post) When I was reading coverage about the Milk Day legislation and its opposition, I thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. If Milk day is anything like MLK day, it will most likely go by unnoticed. Sure, there will be ceremonies and kids might get a superficial lesson on discrimination and equal rights, but Milk day, like MLK day, will hardly be earth shattering.
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